Aécio Neves bill would ban bet advertising on TV, radio, social media, and news sites in Brazil

A bill introduced by federal deputy Aécio Neves would sharply restrict online betting advertising across Brazil’s mass media, with the only carve-out for officially sponsored sports events. For PSPs, acquirers, and operators, the practical issue is simple: if this passes, paid acquisition and sponsor-led visibility outside owned channels gets much harder.

1. PL 3545/2026 would prohibit betting ads across news portals, radio, TV networks, magazines, newspapers, streaming services, social networks, billboards, and other mass-media channels in Brazil. The ban would cover not only ads, but also sponsorship placements and any mention in a broadcaster’s programming grid.
2. The bill also bans the use of artists, celebrities, influencers, or anyone else to promote bets. Aécio Neves discussed the proposal on Wednesday (8) with Chamber of Deputies president Hugo Motta and asked for it to be fast-tracked under urgent procedure.
3. If approved, the only advertising exception would be at officially sponsored sports events. Online betting companies would be allowed to advertise only if they sponsor the arena or stadium, the competition, or the participating teams. Their communication would otherwise be limited to their own websites and apps, and only for the games they offer.
4. The proposal would amend Law No. 14.790, from December 2023, and would also turn into federal law a restriction on certain payment methods: cash, boletos, cheques, virtual assets, other cryptoassets, payments or transfers from accounts not previously registered by the bettor, third-party payments or transfers, credit cards, and any other postpaid payment instrument that does not allow the bettor to be identified.
5. In the bill’s justification, Neves says there are 187 legalized bets in Brazil. He cites Banco Central data showing that in August 2024, 5 million Bolsa Família beneficiaries spent R$ 3 billion on digital betting platforms, equal to 21% of the amount transferred to families in the country. He also cites a Sociedade Brasileira de Varejo e Consumo survey in which 63% of bettors said their income was affected by betting spend, almost a quarter said they stopped buying clothes, and 9% reduced supermarket expenses.

For high-risk operators, the payment clause matters as much as the media ban. A rule that blocks third-party funding, credit cards, and hard-to-identify payment flows is a compliance and acquisition problem, not just a media-buying one.